The Japanese government must move quickly to support upgrades and expansion of its coastal industrial port infrastructure if its ambition to have some 45GW of offshore wind plant installed by 2045 is to become a reality, the chief commercial officer of floating technology pacesetter Principle Power has said.

Aaron Smith said investment in ports and harbours needs to be the “first area focused on”, as the Asian island nation moves toward installing lead-off commercial-scale projects in its waters, as these facilities will underpin a virtuous circle of development of the local supply chain and accompanying job creation as deployment gains momentum.